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Sonic the Hedgehog
"What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ Sonikku za Hejjihoggu?, born 23 June6) is the title character and main protagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Sega's mascot. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog born with the ability to run faster than the speed of sound, hence his name, and possesses lightning fast reflexes to match. As his species implies, Sonic can also roll up into a concussive ball, primarily to attack enemies. Sonic is a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds and curl into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. Throughout the course of the video games, Sonic most commonly has to race through levels, collect power up rings and survive against a host of natural obstacles and minions to achieve his goal. While many individuals at Sega had a hand in Sonic's creation, programmer Yuji Naka and artist Naoto Ohshima are generally credited with the creation of the character.4 The first game was released to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario in June 1991.56 Since then, Sonic has become one of the world's best-known video game characters, with his series selling more than 80 million copies.[when?] In 2005, Sonic was one of the first game character inductees into the Walk of Game alongside Mario and Link.7 Concept and Creation While several people have been involved in the creation of Sonic, the artist Naoto Ohshima, programmer Yuji Naka and designer Hirokazu Yasuhara are generally credited with the creation of the character. In April 1990, Sega requested a game capable of selling more than 1,000,000 copies; a character who could compete against Nintendo's Super Mario, and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research and development department. These included an armadillo (who was later developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (who was later used as the basis of the design of the main antagonist Dr. Eggman) and a rabbit (who would use its extendable ears to collect objects, an idea that was later used for a separate Sega character, Ristar).78Eventually, the mascot they selected was Naoto Ohshima's submission, a spiky teal hedgehog codenamed "Mr. Needlemouse", later renamed Sonic.9 Sonic's color was based on the Sega logo, his shoe buckles based on Michael Jackson, his shoe color based on Santa Claus, and his personality was inspired by future-President Bill Clinton's "get it done" attitude, who Ōhshima felt embodied a modern sensibility of wanting to get things done right away, righting wrongs as they presented themselves instead of letting them linger.7101112 According to Yuji Naka, Sonic's color also serves to symbolize peace, trust, and coolness (which are the attributes of Sonic's character). His trademark speed is based on Super Mario Bros. World 1-1, with Sonic creator Yuji Naka stating in issue 260 of Nintendo Powerthat "I always tried to get through the level as fast as I could,"''which inspired the initial concept for Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so.13 A group of fifteen started working on ''Sonic the Hedgehog and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release.14 The original concepts gave Sonic fangs and put him in a bandwith a human girlfriend named Madonna. However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder,7 "softened" the character up for an American audience by removing these elements. This sparked a heated issue with Sonic Team. Naka later admitted that it was probably for the best.7 Sonic's precise age, weight, height and other physical characteristics vary depending on the continuity in which he appears and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Naoto Ohshima was with short spikes, a round body, and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog, and most subsequent Sonic video games featured similar designs.15 When Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive appeared, Sonic's proportions changed. The original 1:2 head to height ratio changed to 1:2.5.15 Beginning with Sonic Adventure in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a fifteen-year-old character, with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping spikes, and emerald-green-colored eyes. Further changes to the character's design were made in subsequent games, namely in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) and Sonic Unleashed, adding visible fur, a more realistic design for a human world, and making him a bit lankier. Spin-off media such as comics and cartoons have featured variations on all these video game designs, with restrictions set by the standardized model sheets. Appearence Sonic is a thin anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body, peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle and front torso, and emerald-green eyes. He has six long quills on the back of his head, two spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail. For attire, Sonic wears two light-weight, hyper friction resistant red sneakers with white cuffs around the ankles, gray soles, and white straps across the top, the last of which are held down by a golden buckle on each foot. He also wears a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs on his hands. Personality onic is said to be "like the wind";16 a drifter that is always on the move and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous. He values freedom above all else and strives to live his life according to his own rules rather than the standards of those around him or for the sake of heroism and duty,1718 never thinking twice about what other people say or think.16 Born to run, Sonic enjoys nothing more than traveling the world. Endowed with a strong passion for enjoying life, he is never in one place for long and always moves forward to look for his next challenge, making his life a never-ending series of adventures. Because of his need for freedom, Sonic loathes the idea of being constrained,19 and being cooped up for too long makes him twitchy and restless. Sonic's demeanor is always easygoing, cool and carefree.1617 However, he is often impatient, hates boredom, and possesses at times a short temper.120 Because of his impulsive nature, Sonic can be reckless and quick to act before thinking, throwing himself into trouble without a second thought and regards for others' warnings.20 Nevertheless, he is honest and always keeps his promises.1 Sonic's personality is a juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity.20 He is extremely benevolent, driven by his own strong sense of justice and fair play,1621 and firmly stands for truth and freedom.4 However, he is never the one to rest in the face of injustice or oppression. He hates lies and evil in all its forms,422 exploding with anger when witnessing anything unjust, and will do all he can to snuff it out, throwing his life on the line without hesitation.20 However, he usually sees his heroics as an opportunity to have fun, making him a thrill-seeker. To Sonic, saving the world is no big feat and just another thrilling episode in his life.1623 When he finds himself in a pinch, he acts as though nothing can stop him.16 In times of crisis, though, he is aggressive and focuses intensely on the task at hand as if his personality has undergone an astonishing change.171 At the same time, Sonic has a big and kind heart and is fully committed to helping out anyone in need at any time, even if it means getting himself into trouble or being despised by others.23